I believe that the second formulation of the categorical imperative is telling us to treat people as ends which would be treating people as well, people. Where as treating people not as ends would mean to treat people like objects to be used for other things like money, products or power, etc. I think this is what he means by saying, “this will should wholly lack power to accomplish its purpose, if with its greatest efforts it should yet achieve nothing, and there should remain only the good will, then like a jewel, it would still shine by its own light, as a thing which has it’s whole value in itself. It’s usefulness or fruitlessness can neither add to nor take away anything from this value.” I tied this into humans by referring to the jewel as a human. This concept of being valued for what we are worth rather than just being used is something that should be used. The jewel has no end but to be cared for and valued(cherished), one does not simply acquire a jewel to damage it and use it. If we do treat people as an end than this would mean that people have instrumental value and are used.

We can look at something as simple as going to a restaurant and treating the waitress with insintric value. How does one do that? Well we first have to treat them like a human, one cannot simply treat the person as an object. What I mean by that is we have to treat people with manners and realize that they are human too. It’s easy to be like, “it’s their jobs” but coming to understand that they do this to live and survive makes treating people well in general. I learned very young that it’s easier to treat people well because we never know what they are going through. We are taught to always treat people how we want to be treated, the golden rule we learned in elementary school. This relates to the concept of treating people with value. The difference is realizing they are their own person and through realizing it we treat them with value. What that means is that they have a sense of worth and potential, thats how I think of it. If we treat people for the potential they may have rather than who they are it brings a light to who they are.

Blog Prompt 8: Summarize and explain the second formulation of the categorical imperative commanding us to treat people (ourselves included) as “ends in themselves” and never merely as means. Consider intrinsic versus instrumental value and how that value plays a role in moral theory. 448